Change Your Perspective

One of the lessons I learned in my liberal arts education at Hope College was how to look at a poem or picture or movie from different perspectives. In English class, we would read a poem and take it first at face value and then delve into it deeper from our own points of view. One of my assignments (in a few classes) was to write an exposition of a poem where you go line by line in the poem and examine each sentence, indeed each word, and then write about what you are reading. Doing so made the poem so familiar that my perspective on it would continue to shift as I learned more about it. When I looked at an 18th century poem line-by-line and learned about the author and the time it was written, my perspective kept changing. I can view it from its cultural context, its use of language, or how it impacts me as a reader today.

I used a similar technique in my final senior philosophy thesis when I applied Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophy of art to Picasso’s painting, Guernica (shown at the top of the blog). I spent so much time looking at reproductions of this legendary painting that I came to know each figure in it. Needing to know what is behind the painting I read about the bombing of the small, ancient Spanish town of Guernica by the Nazis and Italian Fascists in their support of Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. The bombing was timed to occur on a market day when women and children were in the market, although the men would be elsewhere. The number of dead has been estimated by anywhere between 150 to over 1,000 — the small town had no way to clearly identify the number (a similar problem arose with the massacre at My Lai during the Vietnam War). The bombing took over two hours and is seen by many as a war crime since the town was not near any military installations. Picasso, a Spanish civilian living in France at that time, painted the mural in six weeks. It is clearly an emotional reaction to senseless death caused by war.

My perspective on the painting changed as I learned more about what caused the painting to be created. It also changed as I learned about Picasso and his pacifist beliefs. And, as I applied the thinking of Whitehead’s philosophy to the painting, I also came to see it in new ways. Plus, I had my initial reaction to it because to understand art you don’t need the background information — that information just offers a new perspective. And how our personal backgrounds make a difference is seen in the story about a Gestapo Officer who was looking at the painting in France and said to Picasso, who was standing nearby, “you did this?” “No,” Picasso responded, “you did.” Different perspectives.

So, which perspective of Guernica is right? Or, as I delved into a poem line-by-line and saw it in a new way, did it mean my previous perspective was wrong? The answer is clearly that perspectives are not wrong — they are simply a way of viewing something (a poem, a work of art, or a song) in that moment.

And, as usual, you wonder how I see this applying to work! The simple lesson is that the more perspectives we bring to any situation, the better we understand it. For example, sometimes the program on campus aimed at retirees is frustrating for us as their demands are higher than others. That perspective is not wrong — they do have higher demands. But if we look at it from their perspective and what they are trying to do — stay intellectually active and social to improve their quality of life, then we have a new way of looking at what they do. Plus, loneliness is a major issue for society and for senior citizens especially (did you know that England recently made their Minister for Sport and Civil Society responsible for addressing loneliness?) so the connection with us is essential for some of them. Again, a different perspective. And, looking at the small staff that works with them and has to balance the demands of the members with the demands of the college, we can see how that is challenging. Again, another perspective from which to see all of this.

As you work in any situation, whether it be in the office or at event, take some time to gain new perspectives. Doing so will make you understand what is happening better, and probably help you be more successful in that moment. Understanding the mission and goals of the conference groups that come here allow us to be more responsive to their needs. Seeing an event from the perspective of someone renting a space gives us a way of seeing a rental as more than just a rental. When I bring in performers I try to be cognizant of the fact that they may be toward the end of a tour, missing their family, or embarking on an exciting new project — their perspective allows us to respond better to their needs. One perspective only offers us one view of a situation. Many of us know the story of the blind men and the elephant where each of them only know a part of the whole story. The parable teaches the dangers of claiming absolute truth (God can claim that), and perspectives are really ways of approaching truth from different angles.

As for me, my perspective on Guernica is still lacking because I’ve never seen the painting in person. Although it was in New York until 1981, it was eventually moved to Spain. Picasso gave the painting to the Museum of Modern Art until such time as Spain returned to democratic principles. After some debate as to whether or not that happened, it was given to the Prado Museum in Madrid. As you can see from the picture, it is a large mural. Seeing it in person as opposed to looking at a small picture will change my perspective. I look forward to having my perspective changed in the future.